This is a guest post by Minut a privacy-safe noise monitoring solution that also detects motion, recognizes other alarms, and tracks temperature to help keep your properties safe.
It might be 2022 already, but it’s not too late to make new year wishes (or plans). Here’s our wish: we want to see your business grow. That’s why we gathered some tips on how to optimize operations and minimize risks to really enable growth this year. A lot of it can be done through embracing industry-leading software, smart tech, and automation solutions—so let’s make 2022 the year of smart hosting.
Safety First
One of the biggest barriers to growth is insecurity. If you constantly worry about bad guests, it’ll be difficult to find the confidence to grow. So how do you keep your properties safe and neighbors happy even if you’re managing remotely?
- Basics: Check that all fire alarms (and other required safety measures) are working.
- House rules: Review your house rules to make sure they’re easy to understand and set clear expectations.
- Guest screening: Before you accept a booking, you can ask the guest a few questions to see if they’re a good match and confirm they have read your house rules. While this can be a tedious process, there are screening tools out there that can help automate this process.
- Noise monitoring: Consider installing a noise sensor, as it can help you prevent parties, damage, and neighbor complaints without compromising guest privacy.
- Insurance: Review your policy to ensure you have the coverage you need.
Knowing your properties are safe will give you the peace of mind you need to truly focus on growth. And putting additional safety measures in place can also ease neighbor concerns and boost the confidence of your homeowners.
Better Guest Experience
Keeping your guests safe is part of a good guest experience, but of course, it doesn’t end there. As vacation rentals get more and more popular with the general public, guest expectations rise too. You should not only strive to meet them but also exceed them. Since the more demand you have, the faster you can grow.
- Seamless Check-In
A good check-in experience can set the right tone for the entire stay, so it’s essential to get it right. And it’s best when it’s seamless. That’s why a smart lock could be a good solution:
- You save time.
- Your guests have more flexibility, as they can arrive anytime after check-in time and access the rental immediately.
- You can make sure that only you and your current guests have access to the property by setting up codes that expire after the booking ends.
2. Communication
Guest communication can be tedious, but it’s a must for an exemplary guest experience. Fortunately, much of it can be automated.
- Automated guest communication tools can walk the guest through the entire stay—from booking to leaving—with scheduled messages that go out without any effort from you or your team.
- Some smart locks can integrate with guest communication tools and send out access codes automatically. Check if yours does, as it can save you extra time.
Automating guest communication is a great way to save time while ensuring your messages stay consistent.
3. Comfort
A big part of being a good host is making guests feel at home. That includes everything from respecting their privacy to a high-quality mattress and fully-stocked kitchen to a comfortable living environment.
- Never install a camera inside of your listing. Outdoor cameras can be fine, but they can still make some guests uncomfortable. Really consider whether you need it before getting one.
- Create a list of furniture and supplies that are popular with your guests, and stick to it for all your properties. It will make it easier to open new locations while keeping the same high standard.
- Explore temperature and humidity tracking systems (including smart thermostats and/or sensors). They enable property managers to keep an eye on the home environment remotely and act fast whenever it gets too hot/cold or too humid.
4. Extra care
When you have the basics in place, you can start thinking about going above and beyond. How about leaving a welcome gift? Or creating a neighborhood guide? Thanks to tech and automation, you can use the time and resources you save to make the stay even more memorable for your guests.
More Efficient Processes
In the end, growth is simply about making time to do things better and take on new projects. That’s why it’s vital to pick tools that can scale with your business and that can also actively help you grow.
So make sure to take some time this year to review your tech stack and see how it can work better together. Look for products that integrate seamlessly so that you’re not stuck with five different dashboards to monitor. Not only is that ineffective, but you’re likely to miss things too.
Integrations, automation, and new tech roll-out all might seem like burdensome, even daunting projects. But in 2022, with such a variety of smart systems out there, they don’t have to be.
Guesty’s talented marketing team is comprised of passionate professionals who share insightful industry knowledge and shape brand narratives. By bringing a diverse blend of expertise to the table, we are the visionary architects behind the Guesty brand and innovative campaigns that help people understand our product.
